


Hungry Like a Loaded Gun

by SolarMotion



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Dark Beth Greene, Dark Daryl Dixon, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Reunited Family, good gone bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolarMotion/pseuds/SolarMotion
Summary: There are still good people out there, it’s just that Daryl and Beth aren’t two of them.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	Hungry Like a Loaded Gun

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Still happened, but most of Alone didn’t. Yes, to the very beginning of Alone, with the tracking and the walker. Let’s say Beth killed the walker, took the gun, didn’t hurt her ankle and then they just kept on going. Also, there is no Tara, Eugene, Rosita or Abraham because I’m totally lazy.

It started off as desperation. They could hunt and scavenge, but it was never quite enough. Daryl brought back game as often as he could, but it wasn’t always possible to hunt with walker herds seeming to roam through the forest more often than they’d ever noticed before. Animals were plentiful throughout the fall, but as winter set in Daryl felt like all he ever saw were cardinals, bright red against the snow, like fresh blood.

The winter weather hit hard that year, as well. They’d both thought the previous winter was terrible. It had been cold and long, with everyone in their group feeling utterly miserable, but there hadn’t been much precipitation. However, this winter was unprecedented. It snowed frequently and ice storms weren’t uncommon; they’d never seen a Georgia winter like it.

They’d come across a small cluster of houses in a rural area where the residences were off a back road and all the driveways were dirt. They were set away from the main road, and it was about 30 minutes by car to the nearest town. Daryl thought these houses might have a better chance than the suburbs for food and supplies.

Beth got to choose the house and she decided on the one with a John Deere tractor as a mailbox. Daryl rolled his eyes good naturedly, but she just grinned back. “C’mon it’s cute!”

They were desperate, not stupid, so they lingered back a moment and watched. They were about to make their way closer, but then Daryl spotted movement through the window. “Looks like they got some walkers in there.”

Beth stared at the window thoughtfully for a moment before saying “I think it’s a person. A living one, I mean.”

Daryl leaned closer towards the house as if it would help him get a better look. “What makes you think so?”

“Does it look like they’re pulling things off a shelf? I think I saw them playing with the curtain rod a second ago, too. Look! They just opened the curtain to look outside!”

“Damn, girl, good eye.” Daryl said, and Beth practically beamed back up at him. He leaned forward and brushed a lock of fallen hair behind her ear before turning away.

“So,” Beth trailed off for a moment before continuing. “What’re we gonna do? I guess we could ask them for help. Maybe for some supplies? There’s still good people out there.”

It was a line Daryl had heard from Beth a few times since they’d used moonshine and memories to burn down that old shack. He thought he might be starting to believe it… but not yet, especially if it meant putting Beth in danger. To him, she was the most import thing in the world, even if he didn’t quite know what that meant yet.

He took a deep breath before turning to her. They locked eyes, Beth’s full of trust and affection. “I think we should just take it,” he whispered. “Just some of it, though. We’ll leave the rest.”

She was still for a long moment before replying, just as quietly, “OK.” 

Neither of them knew that they were teetering on the edge of a slippery slope.

They broke in after dark that night with only the moon for light. No one seemed to be watching, and they hadn’t seen more than one person inside as the afternoon had edged into evening. Daryl pried boards off a basement window as quietly as he could, then yanked on the frame. It stuck for a moment, unwilling to give way, but finally popped open with a loud creak.

Daryl tried to get Beth to wait outside, but she refused; they were partners now and she wasn’t going to let him forget it. They slipped through the small opening to land on the cement floor of an unfinished basement. It was empty of both people and walkers, but an impressive array of nonperishables filled wire racks against the far wall. 

Beth was almost ready to grab one and eat it right there, but she restrained herself. “This is too easy,” she murmured. 

Daryl shrugged, but didn’t say anything. He pointed from her back to the window, and this time she went. He boosted her up and out the window. She grabbed their packs from where they’d left them on the frozen ground and began to fill them with the food Daryl was tossing through the window. Cans, boxes, bottles. To them, it was like hitting the mother lode.

Beth had to tell him that there was no more room in their packs before he stopped sending things up. She helped him wiggle his way out through the window before ducking her head to look inside. About a third of the food was gone. Even though Beth did feel guilty, it was overshadowed by the overwhelming relief of having sustenance. They wouldn’t die from starvation, wouldn’t fade away into nothing before becoming walkers, perpetually hungry even after death.

The second time it was less desperation, but more opportunity, with a little vengeance thrown in. They weren’t desperate yet, but they knew it would come sooner rather than later.

They’d been walking parallel to the road, but deep enough in the woods they couldn’t be seen, when they heard the men. Daryl and Beth had spent the previous three days looking for a house with any kind of provisions (Beth had literally been dreaming about rice and pasta) as they stumbled onto the group.

The laughter was jarring after Beth and Daryl’s complete misery of the past week. Daryl grabbed Beth’s arm immediately and pulled her deeper into the forest, ducking behind trees and stopping, motionless. Beth’s feet were quiet as well, and her breath was soft. 

She peeked out from behind her tree to get a better look. They were far away now, but she could still see that a couple of them were overweight, the others were rangy but looked well-fed. There were four of them. She was dumbstruck at the absolute gall (or stupidity) it took to stop in the middle of the main road, carousing loudly.

It wasn’t humorous laughter, either. The tone was scoffing, condescending.

“That bitch never saw it coming,” one of the men said, clearly proud of himself. “Her man did, but it was too damn late for him, right?”

Another man laughed as a third rifled through heavy packs. Food spilled out as he rummaged carelessly through it. 

“They don’t gotta worry ‘bout food no more,” the second man said. “Probably shouldn’t be invitin’ strange men to eat dinner with ‘em, I guess.” His grin was frightening.

Beth felt her blood run cold and Daryl’s hand on her arm tightened until it was almost painful. A burning feeling spread through her body, anger warming her from the inside. She lifted her head to look up at Daryl. Their faces were centimeters apart and her lips almost brushed his as she spoke.

“We should take it,” she said, almost an echo of what he’d suggested at the house two weeks before. 

He worked his jaw for a moment before nodding stiffly. “Let’s wait it out, see what happens after they go to sleep. It looks like they’re breakin’ camp.”

So, they waited and watched, just like before. Four men settled down to sleep, but one stayed up and sat on a fallen tree a few feet away from the rest of the men. He passed time by whittling a piece of wood. The food was at the center of the camp, between the men. 

They stole their way into the camp from the left side of the guard, staying out of his peripheral vision. Beth held her knife tightly in her right hand and left the snap open on her holster. Daryl had the crossbow lifted to shoulder height, his eyes lining up the sights, just in case.

Daryl raised the bow even higher, ready to hit the lookout over the head, but at the last minute the man turned, and while Daryl’s blow was heavy, it was also only glancing. Then it all went to hell.

It turned into an all-out battle between the four men and Beth and Daryl, but most of the men had been asleep and Daryl had stunned the only one awake. It ended up with Daryl shooting three of them through the head, and Beth cutting the throat of the final man. They stood amongst the bodies for a moment and stared at each other in shock.

“They-,” Beth gulped before speaking again. “They weren’t good people.”

Daryl jerked his head down once, in agreement. “Nah. They deserved it.” He really, really needed Beth to tell him that they did deserve it. She was his compass; she would know right from wrong. He let out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed as she spoke again.

“Yeah. Yeah, they really did. They’d a just gone and done it to someone else if they’d lived. Really, we just saved people, right?” She did a damn good job of convincing herself with those words.

And with that they slid right off the edge of that slippery slope.

The next time they had actually been stalking a group of men who had been circling the same area that Beth and Daryl had been trekking through. There had been 8 people, but the group was low on food, themselves.

“There’s enough food for two people,” Beth commented, “But it’s really not gonna do anything for eight people. Besides, it’s weird that it’s a group of eight guys and no women. I think maybe they ain’t good people.”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah, ‘s better this way.”

This time when things went bad Beth and Daryl were better prepared. When they’d left, five men were dead and three were tied up. Beth tried to make the knots easy enough to get out of eventually; she didn’t want them to end up as walker food.

A few days later two of the three men caught up to them, guns at the ready. Beth didn’t know what they’d been doing before the world had gone to hell, but guns probably had nothing to do with it; their aim was terrible. They died quickly at the wrong end of the crossbow. 

Beth had been grabbed roughly, and sported a blue-black bruise on her upper arm, and Daryl’s leg had been grazed by a bullet. It left them shaken, both scared more for the other than themselves.

That night, they stole into an empty house to avoid the chill. They had lain together in bed, Beth twirling Daryl’s greasy hair around her fingertips, and he’d felt it all the way from his scalp to his groin. He thought that maybe he was being pulled apart and put back together just because her fingers dug through his hair and scratched down his scalp.

He moved to kiss her for the first time, and he found her lips were in eager agreement. They were gentle and loving as they pressed their bodies together. Beth gently slid her chest against his, her hand moving between them to his lap. He arched forward into her and grabbed her ass at the same time, pushing her hips closer to his. 

“Love you,” she whispered, not taking her lips fully off his. 

He rolled on top of her and reached for the button of her pants. “Love you, too,” he answered as his mouth drifted down her neck. “So much.” And he did. He’d follow her anywhere; he’d do anything for her. She was sunshine and laughter and his light in the darkness.

When they were both naked, as she opened her legs against his thrusting body so she could cradle him on her hips, she closed her eyes in bliss. This was everything she ever wanted, ever needed. She held him tightly around his neck and across his back, and knew she was his forever. He was her rock, her strength and her protector.

The next day they stood in front of a fence, leaning into each other’s bodies as they gazed through the chain links.

“So, what’s this place, again?” Daryl asked as his hand traced up and down her waistline.

“It’s an alternative school and behavioral health center. There was some scandal a few years ago where a kid died, and nobody could figure out why. I read about it in the newspaper. Do you think it might be a good place to settle down for a little bit?”

“Could be,” he answered thoughtfully. “Gotta go through it, clean it out. I think it’d probably work pretty good.”

They made their way inside to find a surprising lack of walkers. A lot of schools had been evacuated and children sent home so that the buildings could be used for triage centers. He never quite understood how the schools were empty but fucking Wal-Mart was full of walkers. There was a dormitory, a small administrative building, and a bigger building with classrooms, offices, a cafeteria, and a small medical center.

They set up their living area in the administrative building, which had rooms labelled with plaques identifying them with names like “billing,” and “grants and funding.” They chose a couple rooms upstairs that had housed offices for people with the word “director” in their title, taking one for a bedroom and another for supplies.

The next time they came upon a group, the people were living in a tiny cluster of three cabins that looked like they may have been vacation rentals once upon a time. The small community had 11 people and was mostly men with a couple of women.

Neither Beth nor Daryl could think of an excuse to give for what they were about to do. Both were waiting for the other to say something, to protest and say it wasn’t right, but neither of them did. This time they didn’t wait for things to go wrong, but instead went in on the offensive, gun and crossbow ready. 

Before storming the first cabin, Beth turned to Daryl. “I don’t want you to get hurt again, I couldn’t take it if something happened to you,” she told him, eyes shining with devotion.

“I couldn’t go on without you,” he answered and pulled her close, burying his face in the curve of her neck. “I don’t think we should take a chance of anyone comin’ after us. Do ya remember last time? Those guys came back, ya got hurt. I don’t want it to happen again.”

“You’re saying you don’t think we should leave anyone…alive?” She said, her face and voice giving nothing away. 

“Yeah, that’s what I’m sayin.’” He answered without hesitation.

She nodded slowly. “Alright, I think we should be as safe as we can.”

After that, their impressive store of food began to line the third wall of the office formerly belonging to the “Director of Academic Services”. They wouldn’t be going hungry any time soon, but both of them agreed it wasn’t enough; would never be enough.

The time after that, most of the group they’d attacked littered the ground around them, but three people huddled close to a tree at the wrong end of their weapons. It was a mother, a father and a boy who looked around 12 years old. He was about Carl’s age, Daryl thought. 

Daryl and Beth looked at each other uneasily, torn on what to do. Beth bit her lip and Daryl waited for her decision. At that minute the woman cowering against the tree spoke, her voice shaken.

“Can we come with you?” she begged.

Daryl brought the crossbow up immediately, but Beth put his hand on his bicep. Slowly he lowered it to point at the ground. They looked at each other silently, communicating with their faces and bodies.

“I guess we can try somethin’ out.” Daryl said. 

Beth was never quite sure how it had happend, but soon the dormitory building had steadily filled up. The school had been meant for about a hundred kids, and the building was becoming crammed with people. As Daryl stood by her side, Beth made sure all the people they’d taken in knew they all had jobs to do. His hair was wild and messy, his skin was smeared with dirt and sweat, and his crossbow was slung across his back. His quiet intimidation ensured that everyone listened to her words.

Eventually the academic building was cleared out and the food was moved to the cafeteria (mostly), but Beth and Daryl kept the administrative building to themselves.

One day in the early summer the first man they had ever taken in stole quietly into their building and hid in the shadows of their bedroom, holding a knife at the ready. Beth and Daryl were surprised by him as they settled down for the night, but the man didn’t have Daryl’s skill. Daryl broke the man’s wrist in the scuffle, and then threw him against the wall, knocking him out.

The next day everyone gathered in the quad in the middle of the buildings. Beth stood over the kneeling man with Daryl right behind her. All the residents of the dorms waited uneasily in front of them.

“Don’t,” the man pleaded to Daryl. “Please don’t do this!”

Beth stepped back and raised her voice. “We gotta keep things peaceful,” she said to the crowd. “The past don’t matter, because we all got jobs to do, now.” 

Daryl pulled a gun from his hip and shot the man in the head.

The people kept filtering into the community, some who happened upon the school and others that scouting teams brought back (usually under duress). On a bright fall day as the maples began to shift from a bright summer green into the fiery shades of Autumn, one of the scouting units escorted in a collection of people: men, women, and two kids. They were angry and resistant but had been outnumbered two to one.

The unit leader met Daryl in one of the admin building conference rooms to report in.

“They’re pretty scrappy. I don’t know if we can keep them here, I’m thinking they could be pretty dangerous,” the man said.

Daryl grunted his annoyance. “Damn, I hate that shit. Let’s go see ‘em.”

They’d changed the secure school entrance into a holding area of sorts, and that’s where he headed now. As Daryl entered, the sight of the people on the other side of the shatter-proof glass winded him but he wasted no time opening the door to the room. For a second, they looked at him and they looked back, everyone unable to believe their eyes.

Rick broke the stalemate by stepping forward and grabbing Daryl, pulling him into a hug. After that it was a joyful reunion all around, with hugs and handshakes. They were all there, and Daryl, who didn’t much believe in miracles, thought it had to be one. He stepped back after breaking away from Maggie’s embrace.

“You’re hanging with this group now?” Rick asked, eyeing the man Daryl had come in with. Daryl hesitated to answer, he wasn’t sure “hanging with” described his position at the school complex.

“Yeah,” he answered, “guess so. Ya’ll gotta come with me,” he said suddenly. He turned to the man accompanying him. “Go get Beth. Right now.”

The man rushed out of the room to follow Daryl’s order. All the people he’d come to think of as family snapped their gazes to him. 

“What?” Maggie gasped. “Beth? My Beth?”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah, we got out of the prison together. Ended up here, eventually.”

It was a tearful reunion between everyone, but the sisters especially. 

Beth turned to two men who’d accompanied her to the building. “Clear out some rooms in the admin area,” she commanded. 

Some of the newcomers raised their eyebrows, and Michonne especially surveyed them in consideration. 

At first everything was copacetic. Everyone was overjoyed to be together, but as the first week went on, Rick’s group did more than raise eyebrows. The first sign they saw was when they entered their new rooms. The building looked like it had been a house at one time and was the perfect choice to turn into livable rooms, but it didn’t quite make sense to them. 

“Do you guys live here alone?” Glenn asked, the puzzle pieces not quite shifting into place. 

“Yeah,” Maggie added. “Don’t most people live in the dorms over there?” She gestured out the window. 

“We got here first,” Beth explained. “We claimed this place before anyone got here.”

“And you got to stay?” Glenn was still confused, and it was reflected in his voice. 

“That’s right,” Daryl answered. Everyone just let it go in the excitement of choosing bedrooms. 

It became apparent that Beth and Daryl were together-together relatively quickly. They told their family which room was “theirs,” and there was a pause. 

“You share a room?” Maggie asked. 

Beth stared at her challengingly. “Yes,” she said firmly. 

Maggie faltered. “Oh… okay. I guess things happen when you spend a lot of time together?” It was more of a question than a statement. 

Beth nodded, face still serious. “They really do.”

Two days later, when everyone was getting up and ready for the day, Carl noticed Beth and Daryl were already gone. “Where do you think they went?” he asked, brow furrowed in confusion. 

Just then they heard a ruckus across the grassy area between the dorms and office building. Rick looked out the window before bursting out with, “what the hell?”

Daryl was striding out of the dorms, dragging a man behind him. Beth followed almost lazily behind. The man was forced to his knees. The scene was too far away for them to hear more than the murmur of the gathering crowd. Beth drew close to the man and bent down to lift his chin in her hand as she spoke directly to his raised face. 

“Is anyone else here freaking out?” Glenn asked rhetorically. 

Beth stepped back from the man and Daryl raised a foot to the man’s shoulder, then kicked him roughly to the ground. A large man stepped from the crowd and yanked him out of the dirt to begin towing him towards the academic building. The family dragged their eyes from the window and ran outside. They met Beth and Daryl halfway across the lawn and skidded to a halt on the manicured grass. 

“What the hell was that?” Sasha demanded, her voice low and a little dangerous. 

Beth returned her stare evenly as Daryl put a hand on her slim shoulder. “People need to realize that we all got jobs to do,” was the only thing she would say on the topic. 

Later, when Rick came to Daryl privately on the front porch, the other man blew out a cloud of smoke from the cigarette he’d been inhaling. “Don’t worry about it, man,” was Daryl’s only comment.

Before Rick could reply Daryl had brushed past him. He watched as the door shut with a loud click. 

Rick and the others just watched for another couple weeks as their concerns grew every day. First it was the spectacle in the quad, then a family being ushered out of the gate with out food or supplies Once, when a group of scouts came back empty handed, Tyreese learned they’d been sent to the back fences, punished with what was basically hard labor. When he told everyone it almost wasn’t a shock. 

They gathered in secret that night while Beth and Daryl slept upstairs, tangled in their sheets and each other. 

“Things are wrong here,” Rick said. 

Tyreese nodded. “That guy-the one Daryl kicked-I haven’t seen him since he got dragged off." His eyes bounced around the group. “No one has.”

Maggie especially shifted uneasily. “They’re in charge here, right? I’m not makin’ this up, am I?”

Carol wanted to think the best of them. Daryl had been her closest friend and, while at the prison she’d spent more time with Beth than anyone. “I think… I think so, too. Sometimes it’s like they’re not the people we knew at all.” Carol wasn’t particularly judgmental, though. She understood the need to adapt more than most. “It’s strange but it seems like Beth’s calling the shots.”

There was silence as they digested her statement. It hit too close to home for Maggie, who’d never seen Beth as anything more than a sweet, innocent girl.

“And Daryl, what? Keeps everyone in line?” Sasha asked as she leaned against Bob's shoulder.

The lack of answer confirmed all their fears. 

“So, what do we do now?” Michonne asked. They were all in agreement; they didn’t know. 

It came to a head when they got word everyone in the complex was supposed to gather on the lawn. Dread settled in Maggie’s stomach; she was absolutely sure that whatever happened wouldn’t be good. 

A woman was on her knees in the grass, her head bent. Beth, Daryl and two bulky men stood in front of her. 

Maggie ran up close to her sister, trying to catch her attention. “Beth, no!”

One of the big men grabbed her and pulled her back to the crowd. Before anyone could react, he’d already let her go. She stepped back into Glenn’s arms in shock. 

“I hear,” Beth said to the woman, almost conversationally, “that you’ve been hoarding food to take out of our gates.That you’ve been trying to get outta here without permission. You hit the fence guard over the head.” She paused, as if to build tension. She turned to Daryl. “He’s still in the hospital?”

Daryl nodded, seeming to lounge beside her. “Yep, dunno when he’s gonna wake up.”

“We can’t have this,” Beth said. “It’s gonna cause problems if we don’t fix this, right?”

Daryl motioned to one of the men behind him forward as Beth stepped back. The man raised the gun but before he could shoot Rick was shouting, Michonne was pulling her sword and Maggie grabbed Beth. 

“What are you doing?” Maggie cried out.

Rick spoke up at the same time. “Stop this, it’s not right!” 

Michonne stood behind them, sword by her side but ready.

Immediately five men were separating them from Daryl and Beth, weapons raised. 

“It’s fine,” Beth said, breaking through the line of guards. “It’s alright, we’ll stop. We can talk things over.”

Their family drew a collective sigh of relief and everyone lowered their weapons. Daryl and Beth looked at one another for a moment before Daryl nodded slightly. He drew one of the men aside for a moment and spoke in low tones. Nobody was able to hear his words, but the man immediately pulled the kneeling woman up and led her away towards the dorms. 

“Y’all come this way,” Beth said, walking towards the academic building. 

“Let’s go,” Daryl seconded. “We can talk about whatever you guys want. Know it seems bad, but I don’t think you got the full story.”

Rick nodded, “I think we need to talk about this,” he said.

Glenn’s hand tightened on Maggie’s. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t seem right.”

Affected by the atmosphere, Judith wiggled uncomfortably in Carl’s arms. Beth tickled her neck right below her chin, making the baby laugh. “It’s alright, Jude, don’t worry!”

As soon as they all entered the doors Maggie turned towards Beth. “Whats happening here? There’s something really wrong and you guys don’t even see it!”

Beth sighed. “Maggie, it’s so much more complicated than that.” 

“Sometimes you gotta do things you don’t like when yer in charge,” Daryl explained. “You know that’s true, Rick. All a you know that.”

Rick shook his head. “I never stopped people from leaving. I’ve never killed anybody for it. This isn’t okay, brother.”

Both Beth and Daryl assessed them for a moment before Beth spoke with a sigh. “I’m sorry y’all feel that way.” She gestured to some men that appeared behind her. “I really am.”

Taken completely by surprise, no one was even able to pull a weapon before they were grabbed. Michonne tried to reach behind her back for her sword but she was blocked by a tightening arm, muscles bulging around her. Glenn pushed towards Maggie, but she just looked at Beth, shocked. 

“Beth, what’s happening? Stop this!” She pleaded. “Daryl, come on!”

Rick growled and tried to pull his arms out of the lockhold he’d been put in. “What’re you doing? You can’t do this!” He shouted. 

“Oh, Rick,” Beth sighed, her voice carrying a trace of pity. “You don’t seem to understand; this isn’t a democracy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Every time I read this, I vacillate between it’s okay and it sucks, and I have no way to tell because the only friend I have who reads fanfiction doesn’t do TWD. I’m in the midst of a multi-chapter Bethyl story, but I don’t want to waste my time if I’m super bad at this. I’m going to consider this a dry run (ha!). I just want to say that I think season 8 Rick would totally laugh at the crap coming out of the mouth of this story’s Rick, and also that this Beth and Daryl are like, super sappy… blech. Story title taken from the song "When the Sun Goes Down" by Tommee Profitt feat. Laney Jones. Thanks for reading!


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